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Gastric Sleeve Surgery is it painful?



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Those who have gone through the surgery did you deal with a lot of pain? I know a few folks and they said no.

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Nope nothing at all....I really thought they didn't take it out lol

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Same here, no pain. I did feel a little "tug" in my stomach when standing up. I certainly wouldn't classify as pain.

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pain is all across the board, but most people seem to have little to no pain with these surgeries. Some do have it - but then, they'll send you home with meds for it. I had no pain and never opened the bottle of pills.

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Nope, They drugged me up pretty good so very little pain.

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I had almost no pain, and I had to be opened a second time at 24 hours post op for a bleed. Recovery was super easy, I was just exhausted for about 3 weeks.

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I was fine, beyond some uncomfortable gas.

Right after surgery, I was up and walking, and I didn't even take any heavy duty pain meds (they gave me tylenol because I can't have codeine, but I didn't even need to take it), just gas-x.

The surgery is a little scary, but once you're done, it's like... whoa, did they even do anything?

That said, everyone is different. Everyone experiences pain differently. But from experience, I was sore and gassy. lol

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Aside from discomfort around the incision sites I didn't experience much (if any real pain), very little gas - I did a lot of walking that must have helped. When i first had Water I did get a stomach spasm but that lasted only a few seconds each time.

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I had a lot of pain the second night, actually cried myself to sleep in hospital as my pain was not managed well. I think it was mainly gas related, but still, not managed by the student nurse I ended up with. It improved a lot the third day and I didn't even need paracetamol after that.

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Pain is subjective, meaning that everyone experiences it differently.

My first day or 2 was the most pain. It was easily managed with the prescription pain medication they gave me in the hospital. After that, I would say that I was "uncomfortable" but not enough to break out the big guns in terms of the medications. Tylenol was more than enough to handle my discomfort. I'd say by the 4th day, it was pretty rare that I had enough pain/discomfort to even need Tylenol. Probably one of the easiest surgeries I've ever had.

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I had my surgery day before yesterday. I expressed my concern to the surgeon that I cannot tolerate narcotics, opioids, etc., and even the most potent anti-nausea drugs do not touch the awful unrelenting vomiting I have with them (sorry, TMI). So he administered a TAP block when I went under anesthesia. Post-op, I had IV ibuprofen, toradol, and oral liquid Tylenol. Absolutely no pain whatsoever in the hospital. I had minimal discomfort last night at home, but no worse than if I had done a bunch of sit-ups. I was quite pleased 😊

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Had it 7 years ago and never thought it was all that painful, though gas pain can be a beast at times for a while. Hurts in the shoulders. However it’s a journey for a few months for most people. Highs and lows. I had dehydration issues, low blood pressure, times I thought I broke the sleeve and on and on. But 7 years later all is well and I’ve kept off 63 of the 85 pounds I lost. It could be all 85 but the surgery was on my stomach not my brain. Stomach sends right message but brain sometimes ignores. None of it is easy but it’s sure easier than trying to do it all on your own.

Edited by marvypooh

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It depends on who you are and your pain tolerance level. I hurt for about a month took lots of pain meds prescribed by the doc and a lot of antacids. I did not feel like myself till about six months later. It just all depends every person's experience is different. But it was well worth it!!!!!

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I guess I may be alone here. My pain is pretty extreme. The gas pain hurts but is tolerable. It’s the incision pain that hurts a ton. I work out a lot and it doesn’t feel like too many crunches or a rough ab day IMO. It feels like my stomach muscles were cut... which they were. I had surgery Thursday, went home last night, and have spent most of the day today in bed because of the pain.

I do think the pain will pass and get better. But I wasn’t prepared for the pain I felt based on what I’ve read on here.

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      1. Phil Penn

        Good Luck this procedure is well worth it I am down to 249.6 lb please continue with the process..

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    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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